Pretending to be a genius starts with the civilization advancement assessment.

Chapter 401 All forces mobilized, ready to erupt at any moment

Upon hearing this, Tekasa's expression turned extremely serious: "Speaking of which, I need to remind everyone of something. While Lord Lin Yi's return is undoubtedly a great help, we must also be soberly aware that it could also become the fuse for a decisive battle."

"You mean...?" Qingling frowned slightly.

Tekasa looked around at everyone and said in a deep voice, "When Lord Lin Yi left back then, he was ambushed in a premeditated attack. The combat power he displayed that time could not have gone unassessed by the enemy. Now that he is about to return, if his whereabouts are discovered by the enemy, they will never sit idly by and watch such a powerful ally easily join us."

“I think, given the nearly ten standard years of travel distance, unless Lord Lin Yi returns alone, he can’t possibly have brought his team all the way here. So, once they discover the whereabouts of Lin Yi’s team, they will most likely mobilize a large force to encircle and annihilate them. This is not only to prevent Lord Lin Yi from returning, but also to damage our morale, and possibly…” She paused, a fierce glint in her eyes, “to set a trap, attempting to devour the support force we will inevitably send out!”

"Because we have to go and provide support, this is an open strategy. If we don't go, Lord Lin Yi may be surrounded; if we go, we may step into a trap."

Yan Long then said in a deep voice, "There's something I need to tell everyone. Over the years, we've made some discoveries about their reconnaissance methods. Based on some scattered clues and tracing multiple abnormal energy fluctuations, we speculate that they may be using a rare variant of the Void Worm."

"Void Worm?"

Qingling was somewhat surprised. The Void Worm was a rare species cultivated by the Eclipse Clan for the manufacture of storage equipment, and it was known for its affinity with space.

“Yes,” Yanlong affirmed. “It should be a variant that has been specially bred and enhanced with stealth and reconnaissance capabilities. It is almost completely integrated with the void, making it extremely difficult to be detected by conventional perception methods, and even soul scans may miss it.”

"If it weren't for the new squads of space law deities who, after several conflicts, captured extremely subtle traces of active spatial movement in the residual energy turbulence in the void, it would have been completely undetectable."

Then, he said solemnly, "However, based on the density of trace distribution and activity frequency we observed, we infer that the reproductive efficiency of this variant should be very low, or there may be other harsh cultivation conditions that result in a relatively small number of them. Therefore, they cannot form a comprehensive monitoring network."

"We estimate that the area that this void detection worm can effectively monitor is only about 30% of the area within a one to five standard year flight range around the evacuation point. However, this 30% coverage area is not fixed, because these worms themselves are also moving."

"Thirty percent of the area. And it's thirty percent covered by random wandering."

Mo Yao pondered, "This means that there's a 70% chance that Lord Lin Yi's return journey will completely evade surveillance, but there's also a 30% chance that his tracks will be discovered. We can't gamble on that 70% chance. Lord Lin Yi's safety, and the impact of his return on the battle situation, don't allow us to take any risks."

“That’s right.” Tekasa nodded. “Therefore, organizing a support team is essential. Moreover, since we judge that once the enemy discovers Lord Lin Yi, they may launch a large-scale encirclement or even an ambush, our support force must be strong enough not only to successfully provide support, but also to cope with any possible battles.”

As she spoke, a sharp glint flashed in her seven-colored eyes. "Everyone, I have an idea. We'll leave only a small number of deities behind, relying on our existing defenses at the evacuation point to create a false impression that our main force is still there. Meanwhile, we'll incorporate our true core strength into the support troops."

"In this way, if the enemy's interception force is not strong, we will wipe them out in one fell swoop. If the enemy has a similar idea to us and deploys most of its forces to try to wipe out our support force, then we will fight a decisive battle!"

The proposal caused a moment of silence in the council chamber.

Deploying all main forces to support the evacuation point means that the evacuation point itself will become relatively vulnerable. Once discovered, the remaining troops will have no choice but to take advantage of the delay caused by the existing defenses to evacuate as quickly as possible.

On the other hand, if the main force stays behind and the supporting forces sent out are weak, if they encounter heavy enemy troops on the way to the rescue, not only will the rescue fail, but a number of elite troops may also be lost for nothing.

Concentrating resources on one point to ensure a successful relay and possess the strength for a decisive battle seems to be a more proactive and positive choice in the current situation.

The several peak deities quickly exchanged glances.

“I agree,” Qingling said first. “Instead of spreading our forces thin, we should concentrate them on accomplishing one great task. As long as we can ensure His Excellency Lin Yi’s safe return and rejoin our main force, the initiative in the battle will be back in our hands. At that time, whether to fight or defend will be up to us.”

“I agree,” Mo Yao said in a deep voice. “Although leaving a feint requires careful planning, it is feasible. The key is to keep the support troops on high alert and highly mobile, so that they can make quick decisions once the support is successful or if they encounter a strong enemy.”

Seeing that the other two core members had agreed, Yan Long nodded emphatically: "Alright! It's settled then. I will inform Lord Lin Yi of this plan and our analysis so that he can be prepared."

He immediately took out the dark silver communication device and edited Tekasa's analysis, speculations about the Void Detection Worm, and plans to concentrate the main force to provide support and prepare for the final battle, while leaving others to create a false impression, into a long message, which he then sent to Lin Yi.
-
Inside the "Qingling" spacecraft.

Lin Yi soon received a long message from Yan Long.

He read carefully, his brow furrowing slightly at times and relaxing at others.

He was not surprised that the Abyss Clan and the Devourer Clan might mobilize a large force to encircle and annihilate them.

Given that the other party was able to intercept him so accurately back then, it's quite normal that they would have a way to send the message back; even if they didn't, those Abyss Clan and Eclipse Clan gods who were forced to leave the secret realm have probably re-entered the secret realm by now, so it's impossible to keep it a secret.

He did take note of the speculation about the Void Detection Worm.

This method was indeed covert. If Yanlong and his team hadn't made some discoveries after years of observation, their rash return might have exposed their whereabouts prematurely.

Regarding the evacuation point, the plan is to concentrate the main force for support while leaving others to maintain a defensive posture.
Lin Yi's first reaction was to refuse.

In his view, with his current strength and the newly formed Heart of the Abyss, as long as the Abyss Clan and the Devourer Clan did not come out in full force, ordinary interception teams, no matter how many there were, would be basically easy prey for him.

He even felt that such a large-scale operation was unnecessary regarding the evacuation point, and that sending people to meet them might actually increase unnecessary variables and risks.

But he stopped himself from saying it.

He re-examined the analysis in Yanlong's message—"Once they discover your whereabouts, they will surely guess that we will definitely come to meet you, so they may even be thinking of wiping out our support force."

A flash of understanding crossed Lin Yi's eyes.

Indeed, from the enemy's perspective, this is a golden opportunity.

If successful, it would not only eliminate itself but also severely damage the forces at the evacuation point, achieving two goals at once.

From this perspective, the enemy's forces to intercept and kill him must be considerable. Although he is confident in his ability to fight and retreat, being entangled by a large number of enemies will ultimately cause trouble.

More importantly...
Lin Yi thought of the Heart of the Abyss in his hand.

I wonder if that high-level peak-stage Eclipse Clan deity revealed the loss of the Yuanbao prototype. If he did, then the enemy would most likely not dare to intercept and kill him.

Of course, Lin Yi believes that it is highly unlikely that he will say so.

After all, that thing was hidden quite well. If he were that Eclipse God, he would definitely be thinking that if anyone in his team were killed one day, there might be a chance to get them back.

Besides, even if they didn't expect to have a chance to get it back, they probably wouldn't have told anyone.

Unless that Eclipse God is stupid, he must know that the gods who die at the hands of that Source Treasure will inevitably hold a grudge against him. Only someone with a faulty mind would say it out loud.

Therefore, Lin Yi felt that the treasure he had seized should be considered one of his hidden trump cards at this stage.

However, while this trump card is incredibly powerful, it also consumes a lot of resources and should not be revealed too early.

If we are forced to use the Source Treasure prematurely due to being intercepted by a large group of enemies, even if we can kill a group of interceptors, it will be equivalent to exposing the fact that we possess the Source Treasure to the Abyss Clan and the Erosion Clan.

At that time, the other side will likely adjust its strategy, either by mobilizing more and stronger forces and using more extreme means, or simply by running away and waiting for other opportunities.

Neither of these scenarios is what Lin Yi actually wants to see.

In his mind, the best course of action would be to unleash his full power in the final battle, severely crippling the combined forces of the two races. Without their weapons and armor, even if these gods were to rejoin, their strength would be greatly diminished.

Therefore, if the support team is strong enough, one's own Source Treasure can remain hidden, reserved for the most crucial moment to play a decisive role.

Thinking of this, Lin Yi replied via the communication device: "Alright, better safe than sorry. I agree to this plan and will keep an eye out for any possible void detection worms."

Evacuation point camp.

After receiving Lin Yi's affirmative reply, Yan Long and the others felt relieved.

Without delay, they immediately took action.

First, in the name of several peak deities, a "decisive battle mobilization order" was issued to all Pan-Spirit Alliance teams within the camp.

The mobilization order did not conceal the news of Lin Yi's imminent return, and at the same time frankly analyzed the current grim situation, pointing out that the Abyss Clan and the Erosion Clan were very likely to take this opportunity to launch a large-scale ambush.

In order to ensure the safe return of reinforcements and to thwart the enemy's plot in one fell swoop, it was decided to gather the main force, take the initiative to launch a support attack, and at the same time prepare for a decisive battle with the enemy's main force!
Over the years, some of Lin Yi's circumstances have become no secret, and many well-informed teams have heard about them.

Therefore, the news caused an uproar throughout the entire evacuation camp.

"Is Lord Lin Yi returning?"

"That's great! With him here, we feel much more confident!"

"Proactive support? Preparing for a decisive battle? Are they going to confront those bastards head-on?"

"Great! I've been wanting to have a good fight with them for ages!"

"Count me in for the backup! But we also need people to stay behind and set up the formation. I'm a bit conflicted, because I'm good at illusion magic."

"Our entire team has joined the support unit."

Throughout the camp, the gods were discussing amongst themselves, most of them in high spirits.

The pressure of constant friction and conflict had already made many gods simmer with anger. Now, hearing that they were to gather their strength to take the initiative to fight back, or even prepare for a decisive battle, many gods became excited.

Of course, a few teams were more cautious, worried that it was risky, but given the general trend, the prestige of several top gods, and their clear analysis of the situation, most teams ultimately chose to join the support legion.

The rest stop where Qianhuan is located.

Adele and Cecilia naturally heard the news.

"Captain, should we sign up?"

Sai Xi looked at Qian Huan, her golden eyes gleaming with eager anticipation.

After a period of rest, her injuries have mostly healed, and she has regained her basic combat abilities.

Adele nodded in agreement: "Providing support for Lord Lin Yi is something we should all participate in, both professionally and personally. However, Captain, your injuries..."

Qianhuan's face showed a firm expression: "My injuries are no longer serious. With Junior Brother back, how can I stand idly by?"

Adele and Cecilia exchanged a smile. Adele said, "Alright! Let's sign up together and join the support team. It'll be perfect, maybe we can even get a close look at your junior brother, whom you always talk about, and see his prowess on the battlefield."

The registration and organization process quickly commenced. Under the coordination of top deities such as Yanlong, Qingling, Taikasha, and Moyao, the deities who had registered to join the support legion were rapidly organized.

According to the established strategy, the support force was divided into two parts, one visible and one hidden.

A team of about seventy deities was selected as the "rescue advance team" in name only. They included Yanlong and Qingling, two high-level peak deities, and their team members, including the Thousand Illusions Squad.

The true core force, including top-tier combatants like Taikasa and Mo Yao, comprised over 1,500 powerful high-level deities, who had quietly hidden themselves within the divine kingdoms of several of the strongest captains before their departure.
At the same time, a small team of more than twenty gods skilled in illusion and concealment was also selected to stay behind.

They will carefully set up a smokescreen to create the illusion that a large number of gods are still stationed in the camp, in order to mislead any potential enemy reconnaissance.

Preparation, coordination, and tactical simulations—all were carried out efficiently and silently.

The Qingling, on its return journey, smoothly passed through more than ten standard years.

During a journey through a relatively calm stardust belt, they encountered a Pan-spirit Alliance squad consisting of four deities.

The opposing team was of mixed races. The leader was a female Star Spirit deity with a cool and aloof demeanor and a crescent-shaped star mark between her brows. Her team members included a Holy Radiance deity, a Spirit deity, and a Flame deity.

"Are you all heading to the evacuation point?" Lin Yi asked in a friendly manner.

The Protoss captain replied politely, "Indeed. You are one of them too? We received some news a long time ago that an evacuation point over there had been captured by our forces, and we were just about to head there."

Lin Yi nodded in confirmation: "The information is correct. The evacuation point does exist, and it is currently being guarded by Lords Yan Long and Qing Ling of our Pan-Spirit Alliance."

He then briefly introduced the general situation of the evacuation point and the current escalating conflict in the surrounding area, and reminded the other side to be aware of possible reconnaissance and interception activities.

Hearing Lin Yi's detailed information and his familiarity with the evacuation point, the Protoss leader was very grateful and quickly said, "Thank you for providing such important information. May I ask your name?"

"Lin Yi".

Upon hearing the name, the Protoss female deity was visibly taken aback.

She had heard of the name Lin Yi before!

He was repeatedly mentioned and hailed as the "Number One Prodigy of the Younger Generation" even within the clan's intelligence channels and the Pan-Spirit Alliance.

She also knew that this prodigy had mastered the laws of time at the Star Core level, turned the tide in countless secret realms, and was bestowed the title of Fearless War God by the Azure Yan Ruler on the battlefield of the Two Realms Abyss. Soon after, he possessed combat power comparable to a powerful god.

However, in her understanding and intelligence, although Lin Yi was exceptionally talented and possessed formidable combat power after acquiring the Fearless War God, he was ultimately a rising star who had only been around for a very short time and relied on external objects to possess powerful god-level combat power. How could he possibly appear in this 45th level secret realm?
Moreover, he has become the captain of this five-person team!

Judging from the attitudes of the other four team members, they clearly had great faith in their captain.

This is simply unbelievable!
Although countless thoughts raced through her mind in an instant, the Protoss captain remained expressionless, and her tone became even more polite, "So it's Lord Lin Yi!"

The three teammates behind her also looked surprised when they heard the name "Lin Yi," clearly having heard of him as well.

Then, the Protoss captain smiled and said, "Captain Lin Yi, our team's strength is limited, and as you just mentioned, there may be some danger ahead. I wonder if we could have the honor of traveling with your team for a while? That way we can look out for each other."

Lin Yi pondered for a moment.

The four opponents were fairly strong and belonged to the Pan-Spirit Alliance. Since the remaining journey wasn't far, taking them along wouldn't be a problem.

"Alright," Lin Yi nodded in agreement. "We also need to return to the evacuation point anyway."

"Thank you, Lord Lin Yi." The goddess of the Star Spirit race was delighted.

She didn't really think it was necessary to join forces; rather, she felt that with Lin Yi's talent, he was bound to be extraordinary in the future, and since they had met, it would be good to make connections.

So the two teams merged to form a temporary team of ten and continued sailing toward the evacuation point.

With the addition of new teammates, there was more interaction during the journey, and Lin Yi also learned about some situations in more distant star systems from them.

Time flew by quickly amidst the voyage, occasional rest stops, and exchanges.

When Lin Yi estimated, based on the voyage and speed, that there were still about ten standard years left before the agreed rendezvous time with Yan Long, he believed that the time had come.

On this day, he took out the dark silver mechanical communication device and sent a message to Yanlong specifying the exact coordinates of their agreed meeting:
"Lord Iwataka, I anticipate arriving at the coordinates in ten standard years."

Upon receiving Lin Yi's message, the entire evacuation camp sprang into action. Soon, the seventy selected deities boarded more than ten warships and sailed away from the evacuation camp in an orderly manner, heading at full speed toward the rendezvous point agreed upon with Lin Yi.

Meanwhile, inside the "Qingling" spaceship, Lin Yi's spacetime perception was like the most sophisticated radar, scanning every inch of the void ahead of the flight path.

Just as the spaceship entered the first half of the area where it was expected to rendezvous with the support team, he keenly caught a subtle "wriggling" sensation that was extremely faint and almost perfectly in sync with the background void fluctuations.

This feeling was fleeting, and it would have been extremely difficult to detect if he hadn't known about the existence of the "Void Detection Worm" beforehand and hadn't specifically intensified his detection efforts.

"We've been discovered."

Lin Yi's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately took out his communication device to send an alert to Yan Long: "Lord Yan Long, a faint spatial disturbance suspected to be a void worm has been detected. My whereabouts may have been exposed."

After sending the message, Lin Yi remained calm and instructed Luna to maintain the current course and speed, and not to do anything unusual that might disturb the other party, while he himself entered a state of highest alert.

Meanwhile, inside the flagship of the support team, Yan Long received Lin Yi's alarm, and Yan Long's expression became even more solemn.

"Lord Lin Yi has sent an alert, confirming an encounter with a suspected detection worm. The coordinates have been marked. The enemy has likely already grasped its general movements."

A glint flashed in Tekasa's seven-colored eyes: "Since we've been discovered, let's proceed according to the plan. The overt support team will maintain its course and speed and continue towards the rendezvous point, while the main force will remain hidden and ready for battle at any time."
-
Time flew by quickly amidst the voyage, occasional rest stops, and exchanges.

When Lin Yi estimated, based on the distance and speed, that there were still about twenty standard days left until the agreed rendezvous time with Yan Long, he and the Protoss team who were temporarily traveling with him carefully maneuvered their spaceship into the edge of the designated rendezvous area.

The spacecraft's wide-area detection system is currently scanning the void ahead at maximum power.

Suddenly, a system notification appeared.

"A large-scale gathering of high-energy divine power has been detected ahead!"

The intelligent life on the Azure Spirit reported, "The number is about seventy divine power units. According to signal analysis, they belong to the Pan-Spirit Alliance camp."

"Seventy divine power reactions?"

Upon hearing this, the Star Spirit deity who was a guest on the Azure Spirit turned to look at Lin Yi and asked in surprise, "How could such a large Pan-Spirit Alliance team be assembled at this distance? Could it have been dispatched from the evacuation point?"

Lin Yi nodded and confirmed, "Yes, they're here to meet us."

"A backup?"

“That’s right.” Lin Yi explained, “Because of the interception by the Abyss Clan and the Eclipse Clan, some highly concealed miniature detection devices were pre-deployed on the outer perimeter of the evacuation point. This should be the work of the Mechanical Clan. At the same time, there are also gods carrying ultra-long-range communication devices and who are proficient in the laws of space patrolling and scouting at key nodes on the outer perimeter.”

“Once they detect a signal belonging to the Pan-Spirit Alliance, they will try to make contact, depending on the situation. However, you are traveling with my ship, and I have already contacted the evacuation point, so they know we are here.”

The Protoss captain nodded knowingly, understanding the underlying mechanism.

But then a hint of doubt flashed in her eyes as she asked, "Normally, when an evacuation point sends out a support team, would they mobilize so many deities at once?"

Seventy deities—that's equivalent to many complete squads combined into one.

Lin Yi calmly replied, "No, this is a special case."

The Protoss goddess gave Lin Yi a deep look. She didn't press further, but simply nodded and said, "I see."

She already knew in her heart that the "special circumstances" that made the evacuation point so well-organized must be related to the human captain in front of her, who was known as the "number one prodigy of the younger generation".

Neither side said anything more, and they adjusted their course to head towards the large support team.

As the distance rapidly closed, the scene in the star field ahead gradually became clear.

More than ten warships of various shapes and sizes were arranged in a neat defensive formation and were slowly sailing towards them.

The lead warship had a heavy, imposing design, while the other was light and agile, clearly led by Yanlong and Qingling themselves.

Soon, the two sides met in the void.

The "Azure Spirit" and the Protoss squadron's ships slowly decelerated, cutting into the enemy's deployed formation.

Lin Yi led Luna and the others out of the cabin, with the Protoss captain and her team following closely behind.

"Lord Lin Yi!"

Rocky Long's massive rocky body was the first to greet them, "It's great to see you've arrived safely!"

Qingling nodded slightly in greeting.

Lin Yi returned the greeting, saying, "Thank you for coming to greet me personally, Your Excellency Yanlong, Your Excellency Qingling, and everyone else."

His gaze quickly swept over the apparent support team, seeing many familiar and unfamiliar faces, as well as the stunningly beautiful face of Senior Sister Qianhuan at the back of the crowd.

Senior Sister Lin Yi felt a slight stirring in her heart, but this was not the time to reminisce.

"Lord Lin Yi."

Yan Long glanced at the gods following behind Lin Yi, his gaze lingering briefly on the Star Spirit leader before he nodded slightly in greeting. Then he said in a deep voice, "We'll make it seem like we're in a hurry to return to the evacuation point. The enemy definitely already has an interception team on their way, but they're a bit slower than us because they need to make arrangements, etc. But I estimate they'll meet us in one or two standard years at most!"

"Okay, I'm just afraid they won't come!"

Lin Yi responded briefly, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

(End of this chapter)